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Are you already planning for the next school year? If your answer is yes, I might have something for you right here ;)
Have you ever asked yourself if there is such a thing as the perfect lesson? 🤔
I think the answer is... a recipe for creating lessons where children feel involved, motivated and excited to learn.
And the best part? This isn't just for English lessons... it's a structure that can work across any subject.
One of the first things I have always taken into account while planning is my students' attention spans. Every age group is different, and that's something we absolutely need to respect, but respecting children's attention span doesn't mean staying within their limits forever: one of our goals is definitely to gently stretch them. How? By keeping our pupils engaged with a variety of meaningful activities that naturally flow from one to the next.
After sharing many different lesson plans over the past few years, for this post I stopped to analyze what a typical lesson at Miss Lucy's Teaching Fun looks like, so that you can use it as a framework to fill up with your own materials and strategies:
🎵 1. Connect
We begin with songs, routines and a quick review. Children activate prior knowledge, build confidence and get into "learning mode."
📚 2. Explore
A picture book, flashcards, a game or a real object introduces the new topic. But the real magic happens through questions. I encourage children to make predictions, recall previous learning and actively participate instead of simply listening silently.
✂️ 3. Create
Arts and crafts, colouring and cutting, modelling with plasticine or other hands-on activities allow children to process what they've learned in a meaningful way. Learning becomes something they do, not just something they hear.
🌟 4. Reflect
Before the lesson ends, we revisit the learning of the day with a few simple questions and celebrate everyone's effort with a little reward (a sticker, a stamp, a candy). It's a small moment that helps consolidate learning and leaves children feeling successful.
As you can see, every stage of the lesson is planned with a clear purpose. Learning needs structure, and my planning is strongly inspired by Bloom's Taxonomy. Of course, there's always room for flexibility, but the structure is what makes meaningful learning possible.
We start by remembering previous learning, then move on to understanding new concepts through stories and discussion. Children apply what they've learned during practical activities, while the questions we ask encourage them to analyse, make connections and explain their thinking. Even the simplest craft can become an opportunity to create something personal using new language or new knowledge.
I believe a great lesson isn't about filling an hour with activities, but it's about designing a journey where every step has a purpose.
When children are engaged, thinking, moving, creating and reflecting, learning becomes deeper, more meaningful... and much more fun. 💛
Now I'd love to hear from you!
What are your essential ingredients for the perfect lesson?
Do you consciously plan around Bloom's Taxonomy, or do you have another framework that guides your teaching?
Let's share ideas in the comments! 👇✨
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